Mexico: Dec ’07/Jan ’08

01Jan

I came on this trip with my family, knowing I wanted to go to honor my parents, but not sure how God wanted to use it in my personal life. Now, on the second day of the year and the last day of our trip, there is no doubt that God has softened my heart to Him this week in a way I have not felt in a long time. Among my “God Moments” have been the over-generous hospitality of our hosts, especially Ruth and her children cooking for us three times a day, and the many children who have been such a joy to play with though we can’t understand a word they say. They remind me of my God’s special tenderness towards children and his understanding of their every need.

One of the biggest God Moments this week, something that I hope stays with me a long time, is the testimony of one old mama at our New Year’s Eve celebration on Sunday night. I sat by her early in the afternoon and helped her make a Gospel bracelet, and my heart was stirred just being in her presence. She was stooped and grey-haired, with a precious, missing-teeth smile and soft wrinkled hands. She was there with her daughter and grand-daughter – a pillar, no doubt, for all three generations of her family. She was without a husband, or any men, for that matter, but she was all the strengths of ten husbands packed into her frail body. Her Bible alone was a testimony of her faithfulness, with is worn leather cover and yellowed pages. It has been well-loved for a long time.

In all my 21 years of wisdom, I know how easy it is for my faith and faithfulness to falter. At the slightest dry spell, I begin questioning whether my God was ever there at all. I hope that someday I will be like this woman – worn by life’s difficulties but ever-true to the One she knows saves with love. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me of Your faithful goodness through this precious daughter of Yours.

Written By Kara Lasse

This mission trip has been such a great experience for my family and me! One thing God showed me during this trip was the uniqueness of His creation displayed in each person. God has gifted each of us in such different ways, and the way He put this team of 20 people together was remarkable. We had such a variety of gifts that people used to reach others for Christ.

About two hours before we left for our first Bible club meeting, we broke into our groups for preparation time. As people volunteered, or got assigned their jobs, it was awesome to see them throw their hearts and energies into their task at hand. My group was the puppet team, and we found out right then that we needed to have two different shows besides the one that we had prepared before coming. I was so thankful that God had prompted me to bring extra materials that I did not think we needed.

Whitney Lasse, Erynn Lasse, Kailey Miller and Bethany Miller were our puppeteers and they jumped right into practicing without any complaints. They did their show seven times while we were there! At times, their arms got so tired they could barely keep them up. Other times, they got so tickled behind the stage that it nearly fell over! They had a great time together sharing God’s word in Spanish with the puppets and singing Spanish songs.

Two of our group that knew a little Spanish were suddenly prepared to tell a little story in Spanish and teach a craft in Spanish. It is amazing to see how God works when we are stretched and asked to do things that without Him we could not. They both have learned to communicate so much better in Spanish and I know they were a blessing to the children.

Another thing that was great about the trip was getting to see our three children serve KIDS, love on them, and share God’s word with them. It made such an impact on their lives to see the way others live and really appreciate the basic luxuries we have been blessing with in the U.S. – like warm showers, tap water that we can drink, and toilets that you can flush paper down! I am so thankful to God that our family got to be a part of this trip. It was an experience we will always treasure!

Written By Michele Miller

This is a man that works at the camp we are staying at named Margarito. He works Monday through Friday on daily tasks and little jobs around the camp. He lives in a little shack on one side of the camp – it is about as big as a large bathroom (not big at all). He has six dogs that he faithfully takes care of. He is a quiet man, but on Saturday, I tried to talk to him (with my very broken Spanish). I asked Him if he had family nearby and he said no. I asked him if he had friends in Reynosa and he said “a few”. He must be terribly lonely. Pedro, our team leader, said that Margarito is not a Christian, but he is coming to know the Lord slowly. So many times we have seen him just watching our team – watching us eat together, watching the kids play, and watching us come and go. Seeing him makes me think about how lonely and broken this world is – how lonely and broken we all are! I hope that interacting with and watching this team this week has sparked something in his heart. I hope that this week can be a part of his testimony someday. I hope that this lonely world can be touched, loved and healed by simple conversations with God’s children. I hope that this week, even if there were no radical changes that we could see, I hope we as a team touched those who were watching and made an impact on eternity by our daily love that comes from Jesus for those around us.

Written By Whitney Lasse

During the middle of the week, we went to a very poor part of Reynosa. We went to a small church. Everyone that was there, you could tell that they were having a blast when the ladies there (at the church) were serving the team food. I noticed this old man sitting on the bench in the church (He didn’t seem to be enjoying himself…). I tried talking to him, but he didn’t respond very well. I started to walk away when I looked at the bracelet we made with the kids that were there. I turned around and gave the world man the bracelet. It was the kind of bracelet that “shares the gospel” with the colors Black, Red, White, Blue, Green and Yellow. When I gave it to him, his face lit up. He smiled so big! He got up and gave me a hug. When this happened, I realized that the smallest thing can really help a person. Even though we couldn’t communicate with words, we can still spread the love of Christ by serving other people and loving them even more.

Written By Erynne Lasse

While we have been in Mexico spending time with Mexican children and doing VBS, it has been hard to understand the Spanish that the children speak. During one of the nights at a church, while people were giving testimonies, I found out what it meant in the Bible when it says the tribes, tongues and nations will come together in Heaven. Now I know through this mission trip what in Heaven, I will be able to talk to the children we met on this trip.

Written By Chaz Miller

God has touched my heart in many ways on this mission trip. He has shown how deprived the people in Mexico are and how much they need the gospel to be spread. We have gone to churches and the Children’s Haven International Center. It is a place for children to go when their family breaks up or children that have been abused. God has shown me how much they need the gospel. I have been blessed so much by how the people in the churches received us and how God used us to share the gospel throughout the town of Reynosa. I love playing with the kids at the churches, too. They love soccer, and that is my least favorite sport, but I have learned to love it. Our team would have VBS at the churches and the children were so nice and understanding since I could not speak Spanish. I will leave with a new understanding of the gospel and when I return to Fayetteville, I will use some of the things I have learned to share the gospel.